colby is the guy to talk to about ka24de swaps, he has done the swap in his u12 trx and knows the traps you might come up against.
for the most painless swap however, you need to get the wiring loom and ecu from the u13 as well. the wiring loom can from the ka24e can be adapted but its painful, apparently the ecu can also be used from the ka24e but it would mean a custom chip to get the car running.
as far as short shifters go, i am pretty sure the 97 altima is the usdm 2nd gen altima.. i might be wrong, but if it is, the 2nd gen shifter i dont believe fits. you need the shifter from the 1st gen (u13)
the u13 shifter fits the u12 and many other early 90's nissans, but it makes the shift too short for some people's liking (others love it though)
if you know someone that has a welder, the cheapest and also most user friendly option when it comes to usability is modifying the standard shifter by lengthening the section below the pivot point slightly. just make sure you dont skip on the welds as this area is under a lot of force while going for a 'spirited' drive. i snapped my modified short shifter giving the car a squirt at the lights and had to be towed home.
the reason the modified standard shifter is more user friendly is because if you have the patience to go through a bit of trial and error, you can get a shift length that you are really comfortable with rather than it being either too short or still too long.
of course, another option is to buy a short shifter and then shorten the bit below the pivot point slightly, but its all the same deal